A friend of a friend of mine is known by all of his acquaintances as "The Senator."
He has never been in the U.S. Senate (or any senate for that matter) but that is his nickname and since he has had it for decades it shows no sign of going away. [I know that Garrison Keillor had a character by the same name but my friend's friend's title preceded his more famous peer.]
Titles are magical things. Calvin Trillin observed that he and his wife got much better treatment in Europe whenever he referred to her as La Princessa. That doesn't surprise me. An old friend of mine who'd been a mayor found that years later the title could still open doors for him. They might not buy whatever he was selling but the title, however old, got him many a meeting.
There are echoes of aristocracy in this practice. Serve even a brief time as Senator, Governor, Mayor or Ambassador and you'll forever have that title.
Of course, if you have some creative and cooperative friends, you might not need to serve at all.
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